He Tried to be Helpful: Other Terms for Drinkers and Non-Drinkers

The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a term for someone who drinks illegally during Prohibition. A Boston philanthropist and staunch anti-alcohol crusader named Delcevare King sponsored the contest run by a local newspaper. Other entries included boozshevik, klinker, wetocrat, slacklaw, and lawjacker. Not to be outdone, a Harvard student magazine ran its own contest, offering $25 for the best slang term “Prohibitionist”: Also-rans included fear-beer and jug buster, but the winner was spigot-bigot. King is buried in Quincy, Massachusetts, where his epitaph reads simply, “He tried to be helpful.” This is part of a complete episode.